Engineering edible natural polyphenol self-assembled coating for preserving high-respiratory berries and high-protein meats

A green one-step aqueous-phase synthesis enabled fabrication of a natural polyphenol-mediated assembly preservation coating. • The polyphenol coating prolongs the shelf life of highly respiring berries, high-fat and high-protein meats, and perishable seafood. • The coating achieves preservation via multiple modes: antioxidative, antibacterial, surface adhesion and water retention. • The coating is manufactured from food-grade raw materials and exhibits excellent biocompatibility, with edible properties. The interdisciplinary integration of material chemistry and food science has facilitated the development of diverse composite preservation materials. However, achieving the green manufacturing of edible preservation materials that can meet the demands of multiple food products remains a major challenge. This study reports a natural polyphenol-mediated assembly engineering strategy to form a composite coating via a one-step aqueous-phase method using rosmarinic acid and zinc ions (RA-Zn). Owing to polyphenol content, RA-Zn complex coating possesses excellent antioxidative, antibacterial, surface adhesion, and moisture retention properties. The strong surface adhesion of the coating enables stable coverage of fresh food surfaces, thereby effectively inhibiting the colonization of pathogenic bacteria through biofilm disruption and quinoprotein formation. After spraying on various food matrices, including high-respiratory-rate berries, high-protein meats, and highly perishable seafood, RA-Zn coating effectively delays food spoilage, reduces weight loss, preserves nutritional content, and significantly extends shelf life. The shelf life of strawberries and winter jujubes was extended to one week, blueberries to 10 days, pork and shrimp by an additional 2 days. Importantly, RA-Zn coating demonstrates excellent biocompatibility in cells, zebrafish, nematodes, mice, and seed germination. This study provides new insights for the development of next-generation edible natural preservation packaging materials.